For those who have never experienced it or watched a loved one suffer under its duress, Ménière’s Disease plagues individuals with episodic symptoms that can endure anywhere from 20 minutes to 4 hours. In addition to hearing loss, patients typically report vertigo, a roaring, buzzing or ringing sound in the ear known as “tinnitus”, and a disorienting “full” sensation in the affected ear. The American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery has described the trademark loud, distorted sounds as mainly lower pitches.

Without treatment, Ménière’s Disease can impose devastating effects. Hearing loss often becomes permanent. Meanwhile, the fullness and tinnitus usually arrive just before changes in hearing and persist through the attack before passing. Unfortunately, they can also eventually become constant plagues.

One key 1996 body of research evaluated the symptomatic relief of 31 Ménière’s Disease patients against 31 control subjects. Researchers focused on a set of TMJ Disorder symptoms including facial and jaw pain; tenderness at the TMJs themselves and the masticatory (chewing) muscles; pain associated with mandible movement; jaw fatigue; and finally, pain located in the neck/shoulder and vertex areas and temples. The initial finding was telling enough itself: Ménières Disease patients reported significantly more TMJ Disorder symptoms than control subjects.

While Ménière’s Disease patients exhibited a significantly greater frequency of TMJ Disorders, TMJ treatments eventually proved invaluable in not only relieving lower-jaw ailments, but Ménière’s Disease symptoms as well. A later study in 2003 subjected 24 Ménière’s Disease patients to TMJ Disorder and Cervical Spine Disorder treatments. The combination significantly reduced the intensity of a substantial set of signature Ménière’s Disease symptoms:

In addition to significantly reducing the symptomatic intensity, the paired treatments also curtailed the frequency of vertigo, non-whirling dizziness, and headaches. Pain located in the vertex area often disappeared entirely.

*****

If you or a loved one has suffered from the excruciating combination of both Ménière’s Disease and a TMJ Disorder, your suffering may not need to last. After consulting with a physician versed in Ménière’s Disease, contact Oasis Dental today to discuss a single course of TMJ treatments that may relieve the pain of both conditions together.